Casablanca

Casablanca
الدار البيضاء (Arabic)
Al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ
Official seal of Casablanca
Official logo of Casablanca
Nickname: 
Casa
Casablanca is located in Morocco
Casablanca
Casablanca
Location of Casablanca within Morocco
Casablanca is located in Africa
Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca (Africa)
Coordinates: 33°32′N 7°35′W / 33.533°N 7.583°W / 33.533; -7.583
Country Morocco
RegionCasablanca-Settat
First settled7th century BC
Reconstructed1756
Founded byMohammed III
Government
 • MayorNabila Rmili
Area
 • City380 km2 (148 sq mi)
Elevation
0 to 150 m (0 to 492 ft)
Population
 (2024)
 • City3,215,935
 • Rank1st in Morocco
 • Density8,800/km2 (22,700/sq mi)
 • Metro
4,270,750[1]
Demonym(s)Casablancan
Kazāwi (كازاوي)
Biḍāwi (بيضاوي)
casablancais
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
Postal code
20000-20200
Websitewww.casablancacity.ma

Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء, romanizedal-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, lit.'the White House', IPA: [adˈdaːru ɫbajdˤaːʔ]) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic coast of the Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a population of about 3.71 million in the urban area, and over 4.27 million in Greater Casablanca, making it the most populous city in the Maghreb region, and the eighth-largest in the Arab world.

Casablanca is Morocco's chief port, with the Port of Casablanca being one of the largest artificial ports in Africa,[2] and the third-largest port in North Africa, after Tanger-Med (40 km (25 mi) east of Tangier) and Port Said.[3] Casablanca also hosts the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy.

Casablanca is a significant financial centre, ranking 54th globally in the September 2023 Global Financial Centres Index rankings, between Brussels and Rome.[4] The Casablanca Stock Exchange is Africa's third-largest in terms of market capitalization, as of December 2022.[5]

Major Moroccan companies and many of the largest American and European companies operating in the country have their headquarters and main industrial facilities in Casablanca. Recent industrial statistics show that Casablanca is the main industrial zone in the country.

  1. ^ "HCP : Le Grand Casablanca compte 4.270.750 habitants". aujourdhui.ma (in French). 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. ^ Kjeilen, Tore (April 2020). "Casablanca". LookLex Encyclopaedia. Archived from the original on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. ^ mystarco (2022-04-07). "Top 10 ports in Africa in 2019 (by volume in TEUs) and port projects in West Africa". ACS Africa Container Shipping | Specialized logistic solutions provider. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  4. ^ "The Global Financial Centres Index 34" (PDF). www.longfinance.net. September 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-01-06. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  5. ^ Garikai Bonga, Wellington; Chimwai, Ledwin; Choga, Ireen (2022-12-23). "Investigating Stock Market Liquidity: Evidence from Zimbabwe Stock Exchange". DRJ Journal of Economics and Finance. 7 (2): 37. SSRN 4310296.